Cancer battling Bishopthorpe mum's son at secondary school

Julie Blackburn, 51, from Bishopthorpe was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 after finding a lump while in the shower.

She was just 43 at the time and had three-year-old son Henry to look after.

Julie, Julie's mum, Rose Moncaster, and Henry (Image: Supplied)

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Julie, who works at local radio station YO1 Radio, said: “My initial thought was to get it checked out, but I didn’t have any thought that it might be cancer.

"My GP sent me for tests at York Hospital and within two weeks I was told the lump I had found was cancerous and it had been there for some time underneath my breast.

“From that moment everything happened very fast. I was due to get married, to my now ex-husband, and was sent off by the surgeon to have fun on my hen do before we got to work on treatment.”

Julie had a mastectomy and reconstruction as well as three weeks of radiotherapy. She was then given Tamoxifen, which was first pioneered as a hormone treatment for cancer by Cancer Research UK.

Julie said: “Despite the shock of being diagnosed everything went well and I was clear of cancer and just needed checks every six months.”

Sadly for Julie though this wasn’t to be the last treatment she would need.

In 2018 Julie felt a change in her breast tissue, but this time in her other breast. She contacted the oncology department and was sent for a checkup.

She said: “I didn’t think it could be cancer again. I was going to go to the appointment alone but my friend insisted she come with me. They told me there and then it was cancer.”

Julie had a double mastectomy and further tests. They revealed that this was a completely new cancer, and it had travelled into her lymph nodes and was also in her bones. Her life expectancy was thought to be just a couple of years.

Julie said: “This new diagnosis was a completely different situation. It was stage 4 secondary breast cancer, and I was told that the cancer was incurable. There were dark days following my diagnosis but I decided I wanted to live.”

Julie was prescribed a tablet form of chemotherapy that she could take at home called palbociclib, a drug that interferes with the cell cycle that was developed by scientists at Cancer Research UK.

Julie said: “My prognosis was bleak and I didn’t think I would be here today, but thanks to treatment developed by Cancer Research UK I am still here five years on and not just that but living well. My cancer markers are low and stable and I keep ticking off milestones I never thought I’d get to see, like celebrating my 50th birthday and more recently and importantly seeing Henry, who is now 11, starting secondary school.

“When I was first diagnosed with secondary cancer I didn’t know what to do, so I wrote letters for each birthday and milestone ahead in Henry’s life. Now thanks to research I’m getting to take them out of the box one at a time and give them to him myself. It is incredibly special.”

Julie Blackburn at work at YO1 Radio (Image: Supplied)

Julie is urging people to support a new Cancer Research UK campaign that shines a light on the invaluable impact that cancer breakthroughs have on the lives of people like her.

Julie, who believes she owes her life to the drug she takes that Cancer Research UK developed, is backing the charity’s ‘Together We Are Beating Cancer’ campaign to help ensure life-saving progress like this continues.

The awareness and fundraising drive, that includes billboards and posters displayed across Yorkshire, highlights the heartwarming moments - from big birthdays and anniversary celebrations, to quality time with loved ones – being made possible for people affected by cancer, right now.

Julie wants her story to give hope to others that people that despite the diagnosis, people are surviving and living well.

She said: “The number of lives that have been saved in the region shows the immense power of research and I know this better than most. Research into better treatments has given me the greatest gift - more time with my son. These were moments that were impossible to imagine when I heard the words “it’s cancer.’”

Julie's 50th birthday (Image: Julie Blackburn)

Last year, Cancer Research UK spent over £5 million in Yorkshire on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.

Julie said: “I’m so grateful for the treatment that saved my life, meaning I get to enjoy all the wonderful things – big and small - I feared I’d never get to see or do. But sadly, not everyone diagnosed with cancer will reach key milestones – and that’s why Cancer Research UK’s work is so vital.

"From pioneering some of the first chemotherapies, to the development of advanced, targeted treatments and immunotherapy, the charity’s research has played a role in around half of the world’s essential cancer drugs. In England alone, three out of four people who receive cancer drugs on the NHS are receiving treatments linked to the charity."

Julie and her son, Henry, with their dog, Monty (Image: Julie Blackburn)

Julie, who fundraises for the charity as part of York Relay for Life, said: “I wouldn’t be here without the scientists who strive to find new ways to stop cancer and the incredible fundraisers who make it all possible. So, now I’m determined to do what I can to continue my support. I hope I can inspire people to do the same.”

Cancer Research UK spokesperson for North Yorkshire, Lisa Millett, said: “Thanks to the generosity and commitment of our supporters, together, we are beating cancer.

“Our research breakthroughs mean every day, people are being diagnosed earlier, have access to kinder and more effective treatments, and some cancers are prevented completely. 

“By donating, fundraising, taking part in one of our Shine Night Walks, or volunteering at our shops, they could fund new discoveries that will help more people reach the life-changing moment when their doctor says: ‘It’s gone.’”

Donate now at cruk.org/donate